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County, three townships ask for wind amendment rehearing

Four
Champaign County political subdivisions applied to the Ohio Power
Siting Board Thursday asking the board to rehear and reconsider an
amendment to the first phase of the Buckeye Wind Farm project.

The four entities seeking a rehearing are the Champaign County Commission and townships of Goshen, Union and Urbana.

In
their application for rehearing, the entities express concern about the
board’s failure to set forth adequate protection for the county’s
infrastructure and other interests related to the project’s development.

Last month the board approved the amendment filed by project applicant EverPower last March.

The
amendment to the first phase of the turbine project proposed to adjust
the project’s construction staging areas, move one staging area 1.3
miles west, shift the project substation by 1,000 feet, add a new access
road, modify four previously approved access roads and move the
electric collection line system underground.

In December,
EverPower withdrew its request to move a staging area from the
intersection of U.S. Route 36 and state Route 814 to the intersection of
Route 36 and Three Mile Road. Prior to the withdrawal, the city of
Urbana expressed concern about how moving the staging area could affect a
sewer line extension to Rothschild Berry Farm on East U.S. Route 36.

In
their application, the county and townships contend that the board
approved the amendment without hearing about adjustments to construction
staging areas, modifications to four previously approved access roads
and the movement of the electrical collection line system underground.

“The
OPSB erroneously found in its Feb. 18 order that portions of the
amendment application regarding adjustments to the construction staging
areas, modification of four previously approved access roads and the
movement of the electric collection line system underground did not
require a hearing because they did not result in a substantial change in
the location of all or a portion of the facility,” the application
states. “The boards believe that such amendments do result in a material
increase in any environmental impact of the facility or a substantial
change in the location of all or a portion of the facility.”

When
an adjudicatory hearing was scheduled for the amendment last November,
the administrative law judge cited the movement of the U.S. Route 36 and
state Route 814 staging area, shifting the project substation and the
addition of the access road as reasons that a hearing was necessary as
the additions could result in a substantial change in the location of
all or a portion of the project facility.

During the Jan. 6
hearing on the amendment, legal representatives for citizen petitioners
Diane McConnell, Robert McConnell and Julia Johnson objected to the
scope of the hearing and moved to allow questions regarding the portion
of the amendment application regarding the relocation and burial of
electrical lines. This motion was denied.

The county and
townships argue that the amendments that were not heard by the board
will have significant impacts on the county that were not foreseeable at
the hearings on the first phase of the project in 2009.

The
local entities specifically state that adjustments to the construction
staging areas for utilization in both phases of the project are
significant changes and could bring forth traffic concerns.

“In
utilizing the same staging areas for not one but two projects –
essentially doubling the estimated turbines and construction traffic –
there certainly are significant impacts which were not foreseeable in
the the approval of the original certificate or in the Buckeye II Wind
project and therefore could not be addressed at that time,” the
application states. “Also, the relocated staging area may affect the
infrastructure in the abutting rights-of-way due to the same concerns.”

Unlike
the second phase of the project, the application states there is no
condition for the negotiation of a Road Use Maintenance Agreement to the
original certificate.

The county and townships also argue
that due to the lack of a hearing about some of the changes and
additions, relevant testimony was not presented about the positive and
negative effects of the amendment’s changes. An example of this would be
having the Champaign County sheriff and engineer testify regarding
traffic safety and right-of-way concerns not present in the project
originally.

Thursday was the deadline for intervenors in the
amendment phase to file an application for rehearing. At the time of
press, the county and township’s application was the only one that was
filed on the board’s website.

In addition to the county and
townships, the city of Urbana, citizen petitioners and Ohio Farm Bureau
Federation were granted intervenor status in the amendment phase.

The
county, townships of Goshen, Union and Urbana and citizens group Union
Neighbors United filed motions appealing the board’s decision to grant
certificate in the second phase of the Buckeye Wind project last
November.

Nick Walton can be reached at 937-652-1331 Ext. 220 or on Twitter @UDCWalton.

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